This year, there has been a continued increase in initiatives promoting an anti-ESG approach to investment selection and proxy voting for ERISA plans. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced in May that it will no longer...more
11/7/2025
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Management ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proxy Voting ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers
Yesterday afternoon, the California Air Resources Board announced that it will be holding another virtual public workshop on its greenhouse gas emissions (SB 253) and climate risk reporting (SB 261) mandates. This will be the...more
11/7/2025
/ California ,
California Air Resources Board ,
Climate Change ,
Compliance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Workshops ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government
On September 30, 2025, the Division of Corporation Finance (the “Division”) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued guidance regarding its operations during a government shutdown and updated the...more
Ropes & Gray – in conjunction with leading law firms across Europe – has released a new update of its monthly CSRD Transposition Tracker. The Tracker describes Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive transposition and...more
The initial due date for producer reports under California’s Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act is fast approaching. We further discuss the reporting requirement in this post. California’s...more
10/27/2025
/ California ,
Circular Economy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) ,
Filing Deadlines ,
New Legislation ,
Recycling ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Solid Waste ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
Public Safety Canada has published the 2025 Annual Report to Parliament on the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act, colloquially referred to as Canada’s modern slavery act. The Annual Report...more
10/20/2025
/ Canada ,
Child Labor ,
Due Diligence ,
Enforcement ,
Forced Labor ,
Human Rights ,
International Labor Laws ,
Modern Slavery Act ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Supply Chain
In Dealmaker’s Digest, read the top 10 latest developments in global transactions. We offer insights into M&A activity across industries and borders. September megadeals drove nearly $500 billion in global M&A value for the...more
10/16/2025
/ Capital Markets ,
Corporate Finance ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Global Dealmaking ,
Global Market ,
Investment ,
Investment Funds ,
Private Equity ,
Software ,
Technology Sector
On Friday, the California Air Resources Board published its proposed template for reporting on Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions under California Health and Safety Code Section 38532, which is more commonly referred to...more
10/13/2025
/ California ,
California Air Resources Board ,
Climate Change ,
Comment Period ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
New Guidance ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State and Local Government
On October 8, the European Parliament reached political agreement on its negotiating position concerning the Omnibus simplification of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Corporate Sustainability Due...more
10/10/2025
/ Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Parliament ,
New Legislation ,
Paris Agreement ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Supply Chain ,
Sustainability
On September 30, 2025, following a bench trial and earlier findings that American Airlines and its Employee Benefits Committee (“EBC”) breached ERISA’s duty of loyalty but not the duty of prudence, Judge Reed O’Connor of the...more
10/3/2025
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Damages ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
ERISA Litigation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Injunctions ,
Proxy Voting ,
Retirement Plan
On September 23, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) published its preliminary list of entities that may be subject to SB 253 (greenhouse gas emissions) and SB 261 (climate risk) reporting. We discuss the list – and...more
With just over three months until EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) compliance is scheduled to start, the European Commission has announced it is considering another one-year extension. Read more about this development in...more
9/24/2025
/ Agribusiness ,
Agricultural Sector ,
Compliance Dates ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Policies ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
International Trade ,
New Regulations ,
Supply Chain ,
Sustainability
Reporting obligations under the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive are created under EU member state national legislation adopted pursuant to the CSRD. This updated tracker reflects the...more
9/23/2025
/ Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
EU Directive ,
Member State ,
New Legislation ,
Omnibus Guidance ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sustainability
Hearings, rulings and speeches, oh my (to paraphrase and with apologies to The Wizard of Oz). During the back half of last week, there were “anti-ESG” hearings in the House of Representatives on shareholder proposals and...more
In Dealmaker’s Digest, read the top 10 latest developments in global transactions. We offer insights into M&A activity across industries and borders....more
9/16/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Energy Sector ,
Investment ,
Machine Learning ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Shareholders ,
Software ,
Technology Sector ,
Telecommunications ,
Wireless Technology
Over the last few months, two modern slavery reporting bills have been introduced in New Zealand. In this post, we discuss those bills, as well as the possible path forward for corporate modern slavery reporting legislation...more
9/10/2025
/ Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Due Diligence ,
Enforcement ,
Human Trafficking ,
International Labor Laws ,
Modern Slavery Act ,
New Legislation ,
New Zealand ,
Penalties ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Slavery ,
Supply Chain ,
Transparency
Last night, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) released draft guidance on the Climate‐Related Financial Risk Act (Health & Safety Code Section 38533/Senate Bill 261). This disclosure mandate will require subject...more
Many US-based multinationals are subject to the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, which is commonly known by its German acronym, the LkSG. Over the last couple of weeks, Germany has dashed any hopes for a quiet end to...more
9/2/2025
/ Due Diligence ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Germany ,
Human Rights ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Supply Chain ,
Sustainability
Over the last few years, we have kept our US multinational company readers current on the progress and timing of Singapore corporate climate reporting. Singapore’s climate reporting requirements capture many larger US-based...more
On August 21, the US and EU announced that they have agreed on a Framework on an Agreement on Reciprocal, Fair, and Balanced Trade. The Framework Agreement expands upon earlier official statements on the US-EU trade deal and...more
8/26/2025
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Forced Labor ,
International Labor Laws ,
International Trade ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Supply Chain ,
Trade Agreements ,
US Trade Policies
Yesterday, the California Air Resources Board held its second marathon virtual public workshop on California’s pending corporate climate disclosure laws. These laws will require subject companies to publicly report on...more
8/22/2025
/ California ,
California Air Resources Board ,
CARB ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
New Guidance ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government
Reporting obligations under the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive are created under EU member state national legislation adopted pursuant to the CSRD. We have again updated our tracker to reflect...more
8/20/2025
/ Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Member State ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sustainability
In Dealmaker’s Digest, read the top 10 latest developments in global transactions. We offer insights into M&A activity across industries and borders. U.S. outbound deal value jumped to over $80 billion in July; the highest...more
8/20/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Earn-Outs ,
Foreign Investment ,
Global Dealmaking ,
Mergers ,
Outbound Transactions ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Private Equity ,
Software ,
Technology Sector ,
Transportation Industry
For US-based multinationals, recent US and European developments have taken up most of the mental energy devoted to global ESG and CSR compliance. Among other compliance topics, these include California climate disclosure, EU...more
8/18/2025
/ Companies Act ,
Compliance Monitoring ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Greenwashing ,
India ,
Omnibus Guidance ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sustainability
ISS has announced that it will be updating its Environmental & Social Disclosure QualityScore (ESQS) scoring methodology. ESQS covers approximately 8,000 issuers across 25 industry groups in the Americas, Europe and...more
8/15/2025
/ Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Institutional Investors ,
Investors ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Business Practices ,
Sustainable Finance